WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 21: Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji eats an ice cake for his third birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. This is the last year that the National Zoo is celebrating the birthdays for the three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji as they are scheduled to return to China later in 2023, with no replacements expected to be exchanged. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker, 2023 Getty Images)
The end is near for arguably the best tourist attraction at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Three giant pandas that have been on loan from China — with two of the three having lived at the zoo for more than two decades — are set to return to their homeland.
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Tian Tian, age 26; Mei Xiang, age 25; and Xiao Qi Ji, age 3, will travel by plane back to China in late November or early December, with the zoo saying they’ll be leaving by Dec. 7.
The pandas are currently in Washington, D.C. because of a loan agreement established between the zoo and the Chinese government.
A 2000 agreement stipulated that Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would live at the zoo for 10 years in exchange for $10 million, according to the zoo’s website.
The arrangement was extended to 2015, 2020 and then again to 2023.
Xiao Qi Ji was born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on Aug. 21, 2020.
In late August, all three pandas celebrated their birthdays, the last time the zoo put on birthday celebrations for them before they depart.
Below are photos of the pandas through the years from Getty Images.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 21: Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji relaxes in his enclosure during his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 21: Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji eats an ice cake for his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: Female giant panda Mei Xiang eats an ice cake for her 24th birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on July 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first the giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: 22-year-old female giant panda Mei Xiang eats bamboo at the Smithsonian National Zoo on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Smithsonian National Zoo will reopen to the public starting on Friday, May 21st after being closed since November 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 22: Giant panda cub Bei Bei (L) plays with his mother Mei Xiang (R) at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park August 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. The youngest giant panda cub turns one today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (2016 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: Tian Tian, the 275-pound male giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, moves around in his outdoor enclosure the day after the death of a six-day-old panda cub at the zoo September 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. The preliminary necropsy of the 4-ounce female cub did not immediately reveal the cause of death but zoo Chief Veterinarian Dr. Suzan Murray said the initial exam made it appear the cub was not crushed by her mother. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)WASHINGTON - AUGUST 30: Giant Panda cub Tai Shan cuddles with his mother, Mei Xiang, while they eat melon balls in the morning at the Giant Panda Habitat at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park August 30, 2006 in Washington, DC. Weighing more than 62 pounds, Tai Shan (who?s name means ?peaceful mountain? in Chinese) turned one-year-old on July 9, 2006 and has helped draw an estimated 1.2 million visitors to the habitat since his December 2005 debut. The new $10 million Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat is scheduled to open Sept. 20, 2006 and will be a state-of-the-art research facility and add more than 12,000 square feet to the pandas' outdoor exhibit. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2006 Getty Images)WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 28: Balmy weather brought 7-year-old giant panda Mei Xiang outside to enjoy a "fruitcicle," a combination of frozen apple juice and pieces of apple and pear at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on December 28, 2005 in Washington, DC. With an expected high of 50-degrees, the unusually warm temperatures brought a large number of visitors to the zoo. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2005 Getty Images)402955 05: Female panda Mei Xiang sleeps on a rock March 27, 2002 at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Four-year-old male panda Tian Tian jumped the three-year-old female panda, which are both on a 10-year loan program from China, without warning and hit her when he was trying to mate with her on Sunday morning. The two pandas stayed apart on Wednesday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Getty Images)383925 03: Tian Tian, left and Mei Xiang sleep on the rocks in front of their custom-made grotto January 4, 2000 at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Constructed of natural and imitation rock, the grotto resembles a shallow open cave within a natural rock outcropping. Naturally cold in the winter, this grotto will be cooled by built-in air conditioners in the summer. (Photo by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian National Zoo/Newsmakers) (Getty Images)
